Advanced Data Analysis (ADA) is a two-semester Ph.D. level research seminar that supports completion of the ADA research project. During 36-757, you will identify an ADA project for yourself, assemble an ADA committee, and take initial steps toward organizing and solving the problem(s) presented in your project. The ADA project is an extended project in applied statistics, done in collaboration with an investigator from outside the Department, under the guidance of a faculty committee, culminating in a publishable paper that is presented orally and in writing in 36-758.

The ADA project, including both oral and written components, is one of the qualifying examinations for the Ph.D. in Statistics. It is aimed at getting students an in-depth cross-disciplinary research experience, with emphasis on the role of statistics in solving a scientific, technological, or policy problem. The department guidelines for the ADA project are listed in this document.

Several classes will be cancelled either because I will be out of town or because we don't need
all the class meeting times.

Some "makeup" classes will need to be scheduled because one student is not able to attend class
at the regular meeting time.

Deadlines, milestones, activities for class, etc., will be listed on the course schedule as well.

Online handouts relevant to general class discussions;

Other materials that we may wish to share about your specific projects.

The role of the ADA instructor is to fulfill these functions:

To ensure that you have a research project, commmittee, and data, that will lead to a successful ADA
presentation and paper in the fall.

To arrange for you to give oral and written presentations on your project, that move the project forward
and provide you with useful feedback.

To advise you about general issues that arise, from presentation to statistical methodology.

A tentative list of deadlines and dates:

Tuesday January 24: A 1-to-3 page description of your project, including your committee members (internal and external) with contact information, the source of your data, and when you can expect to take possession of the data.

Tuesday January 31: You should have access to your data, if only enough to get a handle on the problem and the exploratory nature. If you cannot be guaranteed to get full access to data by January 27, you should find another project.

Tuesday/Thursday February 7/9: First oral presentations on your project (roughly 20 minutes each) where you will describe the project and the data. Should include more than your first description, include at least one example of exploratory data analysis.

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March 22, 27, 29: Second oral presentations on your project (roughly 20 minutes each) where you will describe the methodology that you believe will be useful in your project. This will be a point for all of us to make sure that your project is feasible!

Thursday March 29: First draft of your ADA I paper is due. This should be structured as an empirical research paper, show understanding of the subject matter itself, including how the data set was acquired and possibly pre-processed. It should include exploratory data analysis and some statistical methodology (which may be different from your "methodology" talk.)

April 24, 26, May 1, 3: Final oral presentations for ADA I, detailing your progress to this point, highlighting features of your earlier draft and any improvements that have been made since then.

Thursday May 10: Final ADA I paper due, approximately 10 pages. This is expected to be a substantial refinement of the draft paper due in March, and include a plan for your work over the summer and in ADA II.

Your Responsibilities:

Complete all the milestones on time.

Attend all classes (and prepare for classes as appropriate) unless you have been specifically excused
by me.